On Friendship

That isn’t my quote exactly, Wikiquotehelped, but I wish it were mine. It condenses everything I have to say about the topic in one line. About problems in friendship, I have to say a bit more.

I have always been a person who has gotten along pretty well with everybody, and as a corollary, I’ve never had strong connections with many people. I’m a decided introvert, and I have few pretty close friends. But at the same time, I’m quite “friendly” to a lot of people – a lot. And I’ve been irritated at a lot of people, but I don’t think I’ve hated anybody. And yeah, I’m almost always willing to give way if it makes things better, mostly because I don’t really care about most of the people I talk to… I care more about living a life unimpeded.

In unflattering terms, I don’t have a backbone. I don’t stand up for my issues. I don’t try to get to know people. Neither do I care about most of the people’s views. I don’t consciously or unconsciously think about my friends a lot – even a lot of my close friends, and I do a lot of stupid things which have hurt a lot of people.

I’m lucky though that I’ve had some good friends who have taught me the secret of a continuing friendship, and it’s pretty simple. Don’t judge. Don’t even try. Don’t try to find reasons, don’t make a fuss. People make mistakes, even your closest dearest friends. Making them admit it is not going to solve stuff, just forgive. And forget. I believe there is something in every friend I have that I like and respect above anything stupid or silly or even vicious that they might do. I know, because I’ve consciously been all of these things, and still been forgiven for it.